To Encourage You

Acts 13:15 “After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.’”

A few years ago, my daughter and granddaughter participated in a short-term mission trip to Malawi.  One of the things that made a great impression on them as they visited with various churches there is how often the people in those churches asked them and others who were traveling with them to “give a word.”  By this, they were asking that they share with the church some teaching, some message from the Word of God that would bring them encouragement.  It’s something that was new to them, this form of extemporaneous speaking.  It really brought home to them the verse that tells us that we should “always (be) prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15), for that’s just how things functioned in the early church. 

In the verse above from Acts 13 we have an account of Paul and his companions on one of their missionary journeys.  In this account, they had arrived at Antioch, and as was their custom, they entered the synagogue there to look for an opportunity to preach the gospel.  The Jewish leaders of the synagogue asked their visitors if they had “any word of encouragement for the people.”  Of course, these leaders were not Christians, so they certainly didn’t expect Paul to begin to preach about Jesus.  However, Paul did just that, as this was the most encouraging thing there could have been for him to speak to them about.  As a result, many of the Jews believed.  Others opposed them however and tried to sow conflict.  In any event, it was the readiness of Paul to preach that is so noteworthy here. It’s a readiness that should characterize every believer. 

We have been instructed to “make the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16), and those opportunities may present themselves as opportunities to speak the Word of God to unbelievers, as was Paul’s case in Antioch, or to believers, as was my daughter and granddaughter’s case in Malawi.  The question is, are we ready for this? If an opportunity presents itself to allow us to speak a “word of encouragement” to others, are we prepared to do so?  Have we been reading and meditating on the Word of God so that when that opportunity comes, God’s Word is already on the tip of our tongue?  Jesus told us that “out of the abundance of the heart (a person’s) mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).  Is our heart filled with the Word of God so that it is out of the infinite abundance of it’s encouraging words that our mouth is ready to speak?  Or is it thoughts about our hobbies, our families, or other interests in life that fill our heart, squeezing the unfathomable riches of the Word of God into the far recesses of our minds? 

You see, there are only so many opportunities that God will give any one of us to be an instrument through which He can encourage others by what we say. May He help us to be filled with His comforting and encouraging Spirit and filled with His encouraging and comforting words so that we can make the most of every opportunity He gives us to speak of the eternal hope that is in our soul.